The Bitterness Of Revenge
by FriendsLovers
Summary: A case leads Danny, Lindsay and Adam to a small town. Will they be able to stop the serial killer who is threatening the citizens? - DL, with Adam
1. Chapter 1

**The Bitterness Of Revenge**

**Summary: A case leads Danny, Lindsay and Adam to a small town. Will they be able to stop the serial killer who is threatening the citizens? - DL, with Adam**

**Author's note: After the lovely comments for 'Seven Sins', I decided to write another case fic. Thanks to afrozenheart412, ManhattanMadam, Hannah554 and hypedupash for discussing and having a look at it! I hope you will like it. Like with my last case fic, please be kind if some things aren't correct. :)  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anyone or anything.**

**Rating: T**

**

* * *

**It was an icy, dark night. Not even the full moon was to be seen as thick clouds were covering the pitch black sky, absorbing every bit of light that could have found its way down into the forest that was covered by a thick layer of snow.

It was late. Loraine Quinn wasn't supposed to be out anymore. She knew she should have stayed at her best friend's place, like she had offered.

She should have stayed in her car and should have tried to get a connection with her cell. Instead something had made her leave said car and now she found herself walking through the darkness of the forest, in the hope to reach her home town a little faster than she would if she kept on following the highway.

A strong wind suddenly rose, creeping under her coat which she wrapped even tighter around herself. It had started to snow again, the thick snowflakes made it difficult to see. Somewhere in the distance she could see lights flickering. A light rush of relief filled her at the sight and her steps sped up.

Faster and faster Loraine was walking. Closer and closer she got to the lights that were marking her goal.

And then she heard it. A cold shiver ran through her body as Loraine stopped in her tracks. Breathing heavily, creating fog due to the ice cold air, she turned around to where the noise had come from. It had sounded like the cracking of branches. Possibly caused by an animal. But Loraine's feeling told her otherwise.

Slowly she turned around. Narrowing her eyes, she stared into the dark, only able to see thanks to the snow that was reflecting at least a bit of light.

"Hello?" she asked, forcing her voice to not shake too much. "Hello, is somewhere out there?"

Again the cracking of branches could be heard. And then she saw it. A shadow, of a figure standing next to a tree. A motionless figure of a person who was hidden by the darkness yet she could see it was there.

Loraine's mouth opened, once more to repeat her former question. But just as she made a step forward, something else caught her attention. The darkness was lit for a second by the reflection of something metallic.

No longer, Loraine hesitated. Turning around hectically, she ran. No idea she had who had been hiding next to this tree. She couldn't know what she had seen glister there. Her instinct was telling her to flee though and she wouldn't ignore it.

Panting heavily, Loraine ran through the forest, stumbling through the thick snow. A quick glance she threw over her shoulder, just to see that the shadow was following her, approaching her.

He was faster than her. With an ice cold fear spreading inside her body, threatening to paralyse her, she tried to force herself to run faster. A stinging pain was hurting in her lungs, her view turned blurry as she tried to focus on the distant lights.

But she could hear it already. The heavy breathing of the man behind her, catching up with her. Her panic kept her going. And made her careless. Loraine didn't see the root that was building a loop in the snow.

A scream escaped her lips as she stumbled and fell into the smooth blanket of snow. Before she managed to get up onto her knees again, she felt herself grabbed at her shoulder. Once again she screamed in panic as she was pushed onto her back. With wide eyes she was staring up at the person towering over her, realising that the glistering had indeed been nothing else but a sharp, long knife.

A knife, held by a strong, glove-covered hand. She couldn't see anything but the metallic item and another piercing shriek echoed through the quiet forest as it was pushed into her chest brutally.

She should have just stayed in her car.

* * *

It was early, the sun was just about to rise as the black car was driving along the forest-lined highway. Danny, who was driving it, yawned once again.

"Are you sure you don't want either of us to drive?" Lindsay asked from the passenger's seat.

Danny shook his head. "Nah, I'm fine. Besides I don't believe Adam is in the shape to drive now either." He nodded at the rare view mirror and as Lindsay looked over her shoulder, she found their friend and co-worker resting against the window with his head, snoring lightly as he was deep asleep.

"I really don't know why Mac sent us to this little town," Danny said, shaking his head. "I mean, he could have send anyone else. Why us in the first place? Don't we have enough to do?"

"You heard what Mac said, didn't you?" Lindsay asked her boyfriend. "The responsible crime lab is dealing with a major case, they couldn't send anyone over and as we don't have such a problem at the moment, they asked ours. I guess Mac chose us because the others already are working on our current cases."

Danny sighed. "That sucks, you know? We didn't really have a day off in ages and now that we got one, we have to not only work but drive to this tiny place."

Lindsay chuckled. "Would you please stop whining?"

"I don't know why you are not whining," he replied. "I had so many nice plans for you and me."

"I bet you did," she answered with an amused smile. The car drove over a bump in the road, the shaking of it causing Adam to snap out of his light sleep again. Confused, he let his eyes wander through the car, needing a moment to remember where he was before he sighed.

"So I didn't dream that I was woken up at 7 am in the morning on my day off?" he asked.

Danny grinned. "See, Montana, I'm not the only one complaining here."

Lindsay only rolled her eyes at the two men.

It took them another couple of minutes until they spotted the car parked at the edge of the street and a man in an uniform waving at them. Danny parked behind it and they left the car, greeted by a strong icy wind.

"Ugh, I hate winter," Adam complained quietly. "Makes me miss winter in Phoenix."

Lindsay smiled at him. "I bet you do."

"Good morning, Detectives," they were greeted by the tall man. A thick cap was covering his dark hair, his deep brown, almost black eyes revealing he was as unpleased about the early hour he had to get up as they were. "Officer Harry Shepard. Harry for you."

"Nice to meet you," Danny greeted back, shaking the gloved hand of the man. "Detective Danny Messer, Detective Lindsay Monroe and Adam Ross."

Harry Shepard gave them a greeting nod. "I'm sorry you had to come out here. Usually you're not responsible for what's going on out here and usually there also is nothing going on in our little town. Seems like it has its name for a reason. But coincidentally our guys are overly busy with another case."

"It's fine, don't worry," Lindsay said, crossing her arms in front of her chest to stop her shivering. "So, the victim was found out here?"

"Yeah. This morning a jogger found her," Harry explained. "He's been jogging along the highway when he found the car over there. He said because it was left he thought he could look for the owner and followed the footsteps. He found her a few feet away from here. She was just 20."

"What's a young woman like that doing out here in the middle of the night?" Adam wanted to know as they followed Harry over to the lonely car.

"My suspicion is that her car broke down," Harry said. "The town isn't far away from here and when you go straight through the forest you're even faster. It takes you only a few minutes."

"As long as you don't meet a killer," Danny replied. He rubbed his gloved hand over the iced window of the vehicle to have a look inside. "Adam, will you have a look at her car? Even if she wasn't killed here, maybe we could still find something helpful."

Adam nodded, already setting his kit down. "Sure."

"Can you take us to the body?" Lindsay wanted to know, briefly letting her eyes follow the footsteps that were still visible in the snow and disappeared somewhere between the tall fir trees that were swaying in the icy wind. A familiar shudder ran down her spine. Such crime scenes she knew from back in Montana; lonely, deep and dark forests. It always made her wonder what people had to do in such places when no one else was together with them.

Harry nodded. "If you'd follow me."

Danny and Lindsay followed Harry into the forest, fighting their way through the thick snow. Soon the early morning seemed to turn into night again as the bit of light that had found its way through the clouds was stopped by the mighty trees. Instinctively they walked faster to reach their goal, but despite the darkness they spotted the body of the victim even from the distance.

"Must have been a shock for the jogger who found her," Harry said when they stopped. The young woman was lying on her back, staring up at them with dull eyes, a large gash in her chest, blood soaking her clothes and the snow below her.

"Looks like she was stabbed or something," Danny stated, kneeling down in the snow. Lindsay joined him.

"Lets see what we can do to find out who's done that to her," she said, opening her kit.

* * *

Late evening it was and still for Danny, Lindsay and Adam going home and relaxing after a tough and exhausting day was no option. What had seemed to be a clear case that could be solved quickly if they got the right evidence turned out to be tougher than expected.

Once again Lindsay was staring down at the coat of the young woman, Loraine Quinn, that was lying on the table in front of her. Shaking her head, she sighed.

"Still nothing new?" Adam asked when he joined her in the room. He looked just as exhausted and frustrated as her.

Lindsay shook her head again, looking up at her colleague as she pushed herself off of the table and stretched her arms. "I've tested her clothes who knows how often, there is nothing on them. Doesn't really surprise me though. There's nothing that could indicate that she got in any contact with the killer other than getting his knife rammed into her chest."

Adam nodded. Sid had confirmed what they had already suspected. The woman had been killed by a stab into the chest. A few inches to the left side, so Sid had said, and she would have made it. The depth of the wound had shown that the killer had either been very strong or very angry. More Sid hadn't been able to tell them though.

"It would have been helpful if the killer had at least gotten rid of the knife," Danny sighed as he entered the room as well.

"You've been back at the crime scene with Harry?" Lindsay wanted to know.

Danny nodded. "Yeah, together with some more people. We've scanned the whole area around the crime scene, I think we've checked half of this damn forest. There is no knife anywhere. I guess it's safe to say he took it with him."

"And when he did that we can be sure that we either won't ever see it again or by this time it will be neatly cleaned so it won't help us either," Lindsay replied.

"Exactly," Danny said. He turned to Adam. "Did you find anything in the car?"

"Sorry, no," Adam answered, lifting his shoulders in an apologizing gesture. "Seems like we'll have more to do to solve this case than we expected. I mean, not even those who we questioned about Miss Quinn had any idea what could have happened to her any why."

"Yeah," Lindsay agreed. "We should extend our circle of people to question about her, even if this means we have to question the entire town. Of course Loraine could have had bad luck, but I doubt that there was a man waiting in the forest in the middle of the night at a place where really barely any people show up to attack the next people he gets to see. I'm pretty certain he had a motive to kill this certain woman and we have to find out what it is."

"Yeah." Danny sighed again, stepping over to where Lindsay was standing at the table, joined by Adam. "Lets see what we can do. We had difficult cases before and I really can't see us not solving it."

* * *

Once again the sun had been replaced by the full moon, which this time wasn't threatened to be covered by any cloud. The white layer of snow that was covering the little town like a comforting blanket was sparkling lightly, leading the way for the man in the black coat and leather gloves.

He had a goal. The event from the night before had been supposed to ease the pain he had been feeling for way too long. It had been supposed to get him the revenge his heart was aching for ever since his loss.

It hadn't worked. He had no idea if he had gotten rid of the person he was looking for or not. Obviously this little voice in the depth of his mind wanted him to be sure though. He couldn't be satisfied with the hope he had found the right one. He needed to be sure.

And so whatever instinct that was responsible for this wish to get revenge had led him to her house. Carefully he approached until he got the chance to peak through the large living room window. There she was, sitting on the couch, facing the window with her back. Instantly he could feel the strong feeling rising inside his chest; a feeling stronger and more painful than anything he had ever experienced before. Pure hate.

His eyes darted over to the glass door that led from the terrasse into the house. His aching heart made a jump at the sight of said door being wide open. He didn't bother to wonder why a woman would keep her door open in the middle of an icy night. It was his chance.

As quietly as possible, he walked over to it, his hand clenching around the knife that had been neatly cleaned by him the night before, hoping that this time the pain would ease and he would no longer suffer from the bitterness of revenge.

* * *

**A/N: Please let me know what you think, because reviews are very appreciated.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Wow, thank you so much for the lovely reviews! They totally made me smile! Thanks also for reading and adding of course! Special thanks to SMacked Hard, afrozenheart412, Hannah554, ManhattanMadame, NorthernLights25, CSINYBabyy, Part of the Queue and Rogue903!**

**

* * *

**The bed squealed loudly as Danny rolled onto his side and he sighed in annoyance. Lindsay, once again woken up by the nagging noise, couldn't help but chuckle.

"You find that funny?" he whispered, sighing once again as he tried to lie comfortable in the small bed before he wrapped his arms around his girlfriend again to hold her close.

"Yeah, actually I do," she answered with a smirk at her sleepy boyfriend. "Instead of being glad that our crime lab has this room for people to have a nap instead of having to ride home you surely will soon start whining about the fact the beds are too small and too loud."

"You know me so well," Danny replied, rolling his eyes which earned him another chuckle. "But seriously, either you fall out of them or you get scared by it squealing at you."

"Maybe you should just learn to stop moving so much in your sleep?" Lindsay suggested with a wink.

"Well, I think the only reasons why those beds squeal like crazy is because they wanted to make sure no one would think of getting it going in here," Danny stated.

Lindsay looked at him in disbelief. "What?"

He grinned. "Well, sex isn't allowed at work, right? Those beds are a good way to prevent it from happening," he explained.

Lindsay started at him for another couple of moments before she shook her head at him. "You're crazy. Then again I knew that already." Sighing herself, she sat up straight again, gently freeing herself from his tight embrace.

"Hey, what do you think where you're going?" Danny wanted to know, reaching out to pull her back into bed again.

"For the case you forgot, there is still work to do," she told him, getting up already to head over to the bed Adam was still deep asleep in. "We have some people to question today."

"Yeah, but doesn't that have time? I mean, just one more hour?" he asked. When she gave him a look, he added, "Half an hour? Quarter an hour? Five minutes? Come on, Montana, you can't be that hard."

Ignoring his comment, she flashed him a smile before she woke their friend.

A couple of minutes later, the three colleagues were sitting in their car again, driving down the highway. It had snowed the night before again and so far the streets hadn't been cleared yet which forced them to drive slowly. Very early it was again but Danny, Lindsay and Adam planned to visit Harry before they would start their interrogations; to keep him updated on the case but also to ask him about who they should question first.

"I wonder if there is anyone who can actually help us," Adam said after a while, turning his eyes away from the snowy landscape. "The murder surely no one witnessed. I mean, who's out there in the forest in the middle of the night? If I had been Loraine Quinn, I would have stayed in my car and either slept there or continued trying to call someone."

"Yeah, but sometimes people do things for reasons we don't understand," Lindsay replied.

"I think most people will agree with what her family members told us yesterday," Danny added. "They might say that they don't understand why someone would kill Loraine and that there was no one who hated her. But maybe we can find something that hints into a direction that explains to us why she has been attacked. Or who knows, maybe someone witnessed a suspicious person around town? We never know."

"Yeah," Adam agreed. "Lets hope you're right and we find something. Otherwise we might have some problems here."

He wanted to say more but the conversation was interrupted by Lindsay's ringing phone.

"It's Harry," she said when she checked the caller ID before she took the call. "Hello?" It was silent in the car while she listened to what the officer was telling her before she replied, "Okay, we'll be there in a few." and hung up again.

"What did he want?" Danny asked.

Leaning back in her seat with a sigh, Lindsay looked at Danny, with an expression he knew too well already.

"Let me guess...no good news?" Adam spoke out what his friend was thinking.

"I think we can forget the 'he had something against her personally' theory," Lindsay answered. "Because Harry just told me that another victim was found."

* * *

Harry was already awaiting his three colleagues from the New York Crime Lab when they arrived at the address he had told them. It was a small house, located at the edge of the town, not too far away from the forest. The familiar yellow crime scene tape was surrounding it. From the distance, people were watching the arrivals, whispering and staring.

"Can't really blame them," Danny said when they left the car. "Something like that surely doesn't happen often in such a small town."

"At least not two murders within two nights," Lindsay agreed as they headed over to where Harry was awaiting them.

"Good morning, Detectives," he greeted them. "I was hoping to have good news for you, but obviously whoever has killed Loraine did it again."

"Are you sure it's the same guy?" Lindsay wanted to know. They followed Harry into the house, leaving the talking crowd behind. For a moment they found themselves grateful to escape the icy cold. Until they walked into the living room.

"Of course I'm no profiler or anything else," Harry admitted. "But well...that it was him again was my first impression."

The moment Danny, Lindsay and Adam entered the room, they understood what the officer was referring to.

The victim, again a woman, was sitting on her living room couch; at first nothing seemed to be wrong with her, but as they walked around said couch, they found a sight they were familiar with already.

"Once again stabbed into the chest," Adam said quietly, shaking his head. "Poor her."

"Who found her?" Danny wanted to know.

"Sally Manson," Harry answered, nodding his head over to the wide opened glass door where a crying woman was sitting in a chair on the terrasse. "She's a friend of Saran Anders, the victim. She said she came over because she wanted to pick her up for work, but she found it suspicious that no lights were burning. She found the glass door here open and when she walked inside, she found her like that. I couldn't get more from her yet, she broke down after she told me all that."

"No surprise," Lindsay said as she stepped closer. "It's painful to find your friend like that."

Danny didn't miss the way his girlfriend's expression changed immediately and he didn't need to hear a word to know what kind of thoughts had found their way into her mind. He stepped over to her and gently rested his hand on her arm, squeezing it lightly.

"Are you okay?" he whispered.

Lindsay nodded, giving him a surprised, reassuring smile. "Thank you, I'm fine." She coughed lightly before she turned her attention back to Harry who was watching Adam as he was opening his kit to start processing.

"Maybe we should see if Miss Manson can give us a few more information about the victim," she said then. "Maybe the two women were friends, maybe they had problems with the killer. I doubt there is no connection between the cases."

"Yeah, maybe we're lucky," Harry agreed. "I'll go over and see if she is ready to talk to us."

Lindsay nodded. "You two start here already?"

"Sure," Danny answered. He watched Lindsay as she followed Harry out of the room and he found himself relieved. The short moment of pain she had experienced at the memory of how she had been in a similar situation like Sally Manson had concerned him. He knew that an interrogation wouldn't make that better but he was glad to at least not have her around the body now. Even weeks after the testimony in Montana, he was still having a close eye on her for the case she would need someone to talk to, although she kept on reassuring him that she didn't need a babysitter.

He stepped over to Adam who was now standing in front of the victim, staring down at her with a confused expression.

"What is it?" Danny wanted to know, picking his camera up.

"Doesn't she remind you of someone?" Adam asked back. When Danny shrugged, he added, "Tall, with long, black hair? She looks like Loraine Quinn."

Once again Danny looked at the victim, raising his eyebrows at the realisation of what he hadn't noticed before. The young woman really looked like their other victim, almost like a twin.

"That's a coincidence," he stated. "Or maybe no coincidence."

"You think the killer is going after women who look like that?" Adam wanted to know.

"Possibly," Danny answered. It could be a coincidence, but something was telling him the opposite.

* * *

Lindsay was watching the woman in front of her and Harry closely. Danny had been right with his suspicion when he had asked her if she was fine. Once again she found herself remembering a horrible event from her past. She could fully understand how the woman was feeling now. She had stopped crying and was staring down at her clenching hands with large, dark eyes. Shock, so much she knew.

"Miss Manson, I can understand that this isn't easy for you," she started then as Harry gave her a look, silently asking her to make a start. He was visibly affected, just like them. What had seemed to be a single murder now looked completely different already. "But we want to find the person who did that to your friend."

Sally Manson nodded, once again rubbing the now wet tissue over her reddened eyes. "Do you believe this has anything to do with what happened to Loraine?"

"There are some things that make us believe that it's the same person," Lindsay answered. "This is why we need to ask you a few questions about your friend. Everything you can tell us might be helpful."

Sally nodded again. "Yeah, sure," she said quietly. Lindsay tried to swallow down the lump that was building in her throat. Again she glanced at Harry shortly who took the hint.

"Sally, do you know if Loraine and Sarah knew each other? Do you know if they were friends or met occasionally?" he wanted to know.

The young woman shook her head. "No, they weren't friends. Of course she heard of Loraine and she also heard about what happened to her yesterday. But they didn't really have anything to do with each other."

"Did Sarah ever mention that she had problems with someone?" Lindsay asked. "Did she have fights with someone? Or could there be an ex-boyfriend? Anyone who she didn't get along with?"

Again Sally shook her head, new tears streaming down her face now. "Detective, I'm sorry, but I believe I can't help you at all. If you ask me...Sarah was one of the most wonderful friends I could think of. She never mentioned that anyone could bother her and I also don't know a single person who didn't get along with her. She was so lovely. And she had no boyfriend either. I have no idea who could have had a reason to do that to her."

Lindsay nodded. Briefly she looked inside through the glass door, seeing Danny and Adam taking pictures. She knew they wouldn't get more from Sally; due to what she had just experienced but also because there just seemed to not be more the young woman could tell them. She had a suspicion that this would be yet another case that wouldn't be easy to be solved.

* * *

It was afternoon, anyway the sun was already slowly setting, making the snow glister in the warm, orange light.

But he didn't see any of the beauty of this day. His mind was too fogged by the strong, bitter and piercing feeling that was torturing him ever since the day of the accident.

Hate. Revenge.

He had hoped that after killing Loraine Quinn, he would feel better. It hadn't happened. He had hoped that after killing Sarah Anders the urge to take revenge would ease. It hadn't happened.

The wish to punish whoever was responsible for the accident was stronger and seemed to get only stronger with every passing day. Every passing hour. Every passing moment.

The person responsible for the accident had never been caught. All he had was this rough description. The description of a woman, tall, with long, black hair. He didn't know who it had been. But he wanted to punish her. Even if it meant he had to go after every single woman who fitted to this description.

Sighing lightly, he glanced at the picture in the golden picture frame that was standing on his bedside table. A sad smile lit his face.

She had never been punished for the nightmare she had caused. Somewhere out there she was, or maybe wasn't anymore. He didn't know it. But his hate-clouded mind didn't care. No one committed something like that without getting punished for that.

Once again he sighed. His eyes traveled back to the long, sharp knife that was resting in his lap. His hands clenched around it. With shaky legs he got up. He left the house, once again with a goal that he knew wouldn't ease the pain.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading the update. Please tell me what you think of it, reviews are very appreciated! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Huge thanks to everyone for the sweet reviews! Thanks also for reading! Special thanks to madmush, afrozenheart412, SMacked Hard, NorthernLights25 and Rogue903!**

**

* * *

**The lab was quiet as most of their colleagues had headed home. Not too much was to do at the moment. Except for them. Danny, Lindsay and Adam were still struggling with a case they actually hadn't even been responsible for.

It had seemed like a young woman had been killed because she had been reckless and had been wandering alone in the lonely forest. Their theory had been that possibly she had known her murderer because chances someone would be waiting for a person to show up at such a place weren't high.

Then a second victim had shown up and suddenly everything looked differently. The woman had been killed at home, again because she hadn't been careful as she had left her house unlocked. Like the first victim she had been stabbed into the chest with a long knife. And once again it had been a tall woman with long, black hair.

Of course this could be nothing else but a coincidence but Danny, Lindsay and Adam were doing their job long enough to know that such coincidences were rare, almost non-existent. The murders had to be connected.

But questioning everyone who could have had any connection to either of the two victims didn't get them any useful information. No one could answer them if the two women had been close, had shared anything that could explain why they had been chosen by the killer. People also didn't understand why those two had been attacked; from what they had told the team, there hadn't been anyone who could have had a reason to kill them.

But if this hadn't been complicated enough, a few hours ago they had received another call from Harry; a third victim had been found. All three of them hadn't been surprised when again the young woman, Caroline Hudson, had been stabbed into the chest. And again was a tall woman with long, black hair.

"Three victims already." Adam shook his head as he looked back at the wall where they had pinned the pictures of the three women.

"All stabbed into the chest, all looking the same way. Looks like we're dealing with a serial killer here," Danny said. "And he's doing it so fast. If we don't get anything soon, we might have to get us help."

Lindsay nodded. "Especially because again we didn't find anything. No murder weapon, no prints, nothing."

"I hate cases where you have nothing and all you get from people is that the victims didn't have any problems with anyone," Danny sighed.

"Yeah," Lindsay agreed. "Maybe Harry got us something after questioning the parents of Caroline Hudson."

"I hope so," Danny said. "Where is he though? Didn't he want to be here already?"

"Sorry," Harry apologised when he entered the conference room as well just then. "I got stuck in traffic, possibly should have left home earlier. I'm not used to the New York traffic."  
"No worries," Danny said. Traffic jams weren't predictable when someone wasn't used to them like they were and Harry was used to quieter areas like the town he was from. "Could you get us anything from the parents? Or from friends? Is she connected to the other victims?"

"She isn't connected to them. She wasn't friends with them, from what I heard they never even talked to each other," Harry answered as he joined the team at the oval table. "But I found something else that might help us."

"Really?" Adam asked, excitement rising inside him. "Does that mean you know who could have killed them all?"

"I'm not sure about the first two victims," Harry answered. "But a friend of Caroline told me that she broke up with her boyfriend a few days ago. She said the break up wasn't a friendly one."

"Break ups never are nice," Lindsay replied. "But this could indeed be a motive. I'm not sure if this would explain why the other two women were killed and I firmly believe it is the same killer. The injuries are the same. According to Sid the murder weapons has to be the same. And the fact that they look so similar to each other also is a proof for that."

"Maybe I have an idea for an explanation," Adam said. When the others turned to look at him, he blushed lightly. "I mean, I...could be completely wrong here. But...well, as they all look the same way, maybe he did it because of revenge. Maybe he killed women who reminded him of his ex-girlfriend before he went after her. Of course I could also be totally wrong with that."

"Sounds like it could make sense though," Danny answered, giving Adam an appreciating nod. "Maybe he was so mad that he wanted to warn her with killing women who looked like her before he did it with her. Do we have a name of the ex-boyfriend?"

Harry nodded. "Just waiting for you so we can pick him up."

"Then lets have a look at what he has to tell us," Lindsay said which Danny and Adam agreed to with a nod and together with Harry they left the conference room.

* * *

Marc Walker was sitting at the plain table in the interrogation room, staring at the two men in front of him with an uncomfortable expression. A minute ago, Harry and Danny had entered the room. Since then, the young man was sitting on the edge of his chair, hands clenching and shaking while they were resting on the table, eyes widened and red.

"I know I might not have too much experience with suspects," Adam whispered as he and Lindsay were watching the scene from outside the room. "But to me he doesn't seem to look like he just killed three women. He rather looks like he's shocked by what happened."

Lindsay nodded. "Lets see what he has to say. I agree with you, but it happens quite a lot that we have people in there who play their roles perfectly."

Adam nodded and like Lindsay turned his attention back to the people inside of the interrogation room.

"I don't get why I have to be here," Marc Walker said.

"We're here because we want to ask you a few questions about your relationship with Caroline Hudson," Danny answered.

The man nodded, swallowing hard. "I still can't believe she was killed by this insane person," he said quietly.

"I thought you and Caroline broke up a few days ago," Harry said. Marc looked up at him.

"Doesn't mean I'm not sad about what happened to her," he answered. When Harry only glanced back at him, his eyes widened. "Wait...you don't think I have anything to do with that, right?"

"That's what we're trying to find out," Danny replied.

"Are you kidding me?" Marc shook his head in disbelief. "I was together with Caroline! Yes, she broke up with me, but that doesn't mean anything."

"Why did she break up with you?" Danny wanted to know.

"Because she thought we don't fit together anymore," Marc answered quietly.

"I'm sure you weren't happy about that," Harry stated.

Marc glared at him. "Of course I wasn't happy about that. I loved her! I still do."

"And because you couldn't handle that she didn't want to take you back, you surely got angry," Harry said. "You got angry because you still loved her and she simply broke up with you because she thought you don't fit together. Although you know you do. Right?"

"No, wrong!" Marc shot back. "Believe it or not, but I wasn't mad at her. I just said I still love her, right? Yes, I was sad when she broke up with me and I tried to get her back. But that doesn't mean I would kill her! Also there have been two other women being killed, who says it wasn't the same guy? Do you want to tell me I did that as well? Because I didn't have anything to do with them."

"Anyway we have to follow everything that could bring us closer to who did that to your ex-girlfriend and the others," Danny answered. "Where have you been this afternoon?"

"I was at work," Marc said. "I went there at 9 a.m. this morning and didn't manage to leave until 6 p.m. I didn't even leave for a break. You can ask my boss, I was together with him all the time."

Harry nodded. "We will. Can you also tell us where you have been the last two nights?"

"I was at home," Marc answered. "And no, I can't prove that someone was together with me all the time. I was alone."

"Thank you, Mr. Walker," Danny answered. "We will check what you just told us. Do you have any idea who could have done this to Caroline?"

Marc shook his head. "I have no idea. She was one of the sweetest persons. Why else would I love her so much?"

"Alright." Harry said. "If you remember anything that could tell us that maybe she could have had a problem with someone or if you have anything to add to your statement, let us know. Also stay in town, just for the case we might need to have a little talk again."

Marc only stared back at him. Harry and Danny got up to leave the room again where Lindsay and Adam were still waiting for them.

"I still think he didn't do it," Adam said when the two men joined them. "I think he just...well, he seems to be more shocked than anything. He doesn't seem like he actually killed anyone." He sighed. "Of course he could also just be fooling us."

"I also didn't get the impression he did it," Lindsay replied. "Of course he has a motive, but if everyone who had to go through a break up would kill their ex-partners, we would have a lot to do."

"We'll know more when we checked out whether he has an alibi or not," Danny answered.

Harry nodded in agreement. "I know his boss, he's a very trustworthy man. If he says Marc was there all day, he was in fact there. I'll just go and talk to him."

"Call us when you know more," Danny said. Turning back to the others, he added, "And how about us? Going back to the evidence?"

"The non-existent ones you mean?" Adam asked. "Sure."

"I think first we get something to eat. We didn't eat anything in ages," Lindsay said with a soft smile. "And don't look upset like that. We'll find out what's happening in this town. They can't hide forever."

Danny and Adam nodded in agreement and followed Lindsay over to the break room. Currently they might have not much and possibly their only suspect was indeed innocent. But they couldn't help the feeling that this case wouldn't stay unsolved for long.

* * *

He was sitting on his bed, holding the picture frame in his hands tightly as tears were streaming down his cheeks. So badly he missed her. This accident had been horrible and still he couldn't forget how he had felt like when he had gotten the news.

People had told him they were sorry and that one day he would get over it and would be able to live again. He knew this would never happen. The pain in the depth of his heart would always be there and time wouldn't heal it.

Same seemed to count for hate. At first there had been sadness. Soon the sadness had started to change into hate and it seemed like when it was about to overwhelm him again, another dangerous instinct kicked in.

An instinct that made him grab his knife and go after those women who looked like the person people had seen when the accident had happened. Of course he knew it wouldn't turn back time, it wouldn't bring her back. It didn't even ease the hate he felt for this woman who had left without calling for help. The woman who was responsible for the pain he had to feel.

But he had to be more careful. People were looking for him. He knew he couldn't keep on doing it without leaving any piece of evidence. One day the cops would find out it was him. One day they would find the connection. One day they would find out why he was going after those innocent women. Or seemingly innocent women; he couldn't tell that for sure.

With a sigh, he got up and walked over to the window. He looked out, seeing the little town so peacefully, covered in a soft layer of snow. No longer it was peaceful since he was looking for revenge. And even if he wanted to, he wouldn't be able to stop.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading the update! Like always, reviews are very appreciated!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Here is a new update already. I already wrote all the chapters so you can expect me to update this one a bit quicker. I hope you're still reading this story! Big thanks to everyone who has reviewed and thanks also for reading! Special thanks to afrozenheart412, NorthernLights25 and SMacked Hard!**

* * *

The case wasn't anywhere near being closed. For Danny, Lindsay and Adam going home was no option. They had to find the killer before he would go after even more young women. This meant they had to stay at the lab. But at least a few hours of sleep in the small room with the squealing beds were allowed.

When Danny woke up after what had to be not more than a handful of hours of sleep, the squealing beds or the case weren't what came to his mind first. Instead his eyes immediately travelled to Lindsay, who was sharing the small bed with him. They seemed to have a good timing as she yawned just then and after blinking a few times, opened her eyes as well and gazed up at him.

"Good morning," he said quietly to not wake Adam up, who was just as exhausted as them after finding nothing helpful for such a long time.

"Good morning," she replied, yawning again before she snuggled closer against him. Once again Lindsay looked up at him, raising her eyebrows lightly at the look he was giving her. "What is it? You had a bad dream or something?"

"No," Danny answered. "But I was wondering if you did." When she gave him a confused look, he added, "You know you don't have to hide anything in front of me, right? I feel it when something is upsetting you. And it doesn't surprise me this case is affecting you."

Lindsay gazed back at him in silence for a few moments. Then she shrugged. "I guess every case is affecting us, right? It's normal. If we went to work without even bothering to be affected by what we get to see, we should start to worry."

"You know what I'm talking about, don't you?" Danny asked back.

"So what?" She sighed. "What am I supposed to do, Danny? This is our job. It's tough sometimes, yes. I knew that when I started. I knew that some cases would be harder for me than others. I can't just back off when things get difficult though. I have to be professional."

"And no one says anything against that," Danny replied. "Yeah, you have to be professional and you can't always look for the cases that suit you the best. You aren't doing that, you never did. But I think what you should do though is talking. Didn't you promise to me that you'd stop this whole keeping everything to yourself? You said you wanted to come to me when things get tough with a case again. I don't see you doing that though."

Once again Lindsay sighed, this time not because she was annoyed by the question. She wrapped her arms tighter around her boyfriend and answered, "I'm sorry. I know I promised that, but it's really not easy."

"I know it's not easy, but dealing with it all by your own isn't making it any better," he told her.

"Yeah," she agreed.

"So?" he asked then.

Lindsay chuckled. "You're stubborn, you know? Alright. Well, I find those cases a little difficult. It's still tough for me to see young women murdered. But the most it got to me when we had to talk to Sarah's friend Sally. The whole situation...it reminded me of what I had been in so much. It was so painful to see how sad she was, how shocked, how broken because she didn't understand what has been happening. I know how horrible it is when you find your friend murdered, no matter if you knew what was expecting you or not."

Listening to her words, Danny held her closer. Many times they had been talking about what had happened to her friends back then in Montana. When Danny had found out what Lindsay had been hiding and why suddenly she didn't want to have anyone around her anymore, including him, he had been simply shocked. Shocked by the brutality of the murder and by what the teenager had to go through. Just imagining it was horrible, let alone having to go through it.

Since then he often caught himself by watching Lindsay at crime scenes. She was doing a good job with staying professional and working every case, no matter how much they got to her. He could understand that she didn't want to choose her cases and she also shouldn't do so. Anyway he wanted to make sure she didn't swallow all the pain again and would suffer from nightmares without asking for support.

"I just hope we catch this person soon," she said then. "For me one of the worst things was that they didn't catch him back then. He was still out there. He could have just returned. And the fact he didn't get any punishment was making me angry as well. It's one reason why I chose this job. Not to catch him, but to make sure that something like that didn't happen again. Although there are still way too many cold cases."

"I know," he agreed. "But this one won't be one of them. We'll find him."

Lindsay only nodded in response. Danny knew neither of them could promise if they would catch this person or not. But they would try their best and wouldn't stop until there was nothing they would work on anymore.  


* * *

Frustration was filling the room as three colleagues were sitting around a table, going through the rare evidence they had, over and over again.

"I can't believe there's nothing," Adam groaned, tossing the picture he was holding back onto the table. "How's it possible there's no evidence? Nothing? He just walked in, killed them and that's it?"

Lindsay shook her head. "Usually you find at least little things that could lead you to the killer. Sometimes you get information from people you question. I think we questioned the entire town and still we have nothing." She glanced at Danny. "Harry called you already?"

Danny nodded. "Yeah. He said that our friend has an alibi. He didn't do it. So we're back to where we've been at the beginning."

"At least no new victim showed up yet," Adam said. "Although I have the feeling that it's just a question of time until he does it again."

"Chances are high, yes," Lindsay agreed. She looked back at the pictures on the table. "It's always the same kind of person he seems to be after. Tall women, young and with long black hair. I wonder why."

"Maybe because his ex-girlfriend looked like that?" Danny suggested. "Or when it's a woman, maybe because she had problems with a woman who looked like that? Although my instinct is telling me it's a man. It's Sid's theory as well. The force with which the knife was rammed into their chests is a bit too much for a woman."

"Yeah, or it's a very strong woman," Adam said. "I met a woman who could knock a really strong guy out with one blow."

"Or that," Danny answered.

"Whoever the killer is, we have to find out why he's doing that," Lindsay stated. "Why those women? The only connection they have is the way they look like. What did a tall, black-haired woman do to him?"

"I wonder how many people we'll have to question to get an answer for that," Danny sighed.

"Maybe we could try to at least protect women who fit into the category so he can't kill more of them," Lindsay suggested.

"Do you want to have cops protect every single tall, black-haired woman in town?" Danny asked.

Lindsay nodded. "I know that sounds crazy, but this town isn't New York City. It's small and there aren't that many women who look like that."

"And how are we supposed to find them all? Knock at every door?" Adam wanted to know.

Lindsay shook her head. "No, we'll just talk to Harry. He's officer in Serenity for decades, he knows the people there. In such a small town everyone knows everyone. He can make a list of people and we'll send cops out to protect them. I guess the number of women who look like that shouldn't be too high. And if so we can still think of something else. But we have to do something if we don't want him to do it again and catching him right now seems a bit more difficult."

Danny nodded. "Sounds like a good plan."

"I'll go to Harry. Maybe you can continue trying to find something we didn't see yet," Adam suggested. When Danny and Lindsay nodded in agreement, he got up, hoping that at least this part of their plan would work.  


* * *

When Adam arrived in town again, he could feel a strong feeling of discomfort rising inside him. That they didn't manage to catch the killer yet was driving him crazy, just as much as the others. Constantly he was worried that another victim would show up. He felt guilty that there had been three victims already. But he knew that without evidence or statements that could lead them into certain directions, they couldn't do much.

But maybe at least their plan to protect the other women who fitted to this category would work. Briefly he knocked at the door of Harry's office before he walked inside. He found the officer sitting at his desk, staring down at a file in front of him. It was the look in his eyes that made Adam stop in his tracks though. So much anger he hadn't seen in a while.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, causing Harry to snap out of his thoughts. Shaking his head, he gave his visitor a light smile.

"Hey," he greeted back. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just...frustrating, you know. That we didn't catch him yet."

Adam nodded in understanding. "Yeah, it's frustrating us as well."

Harry shook his head, sighing deeply. "Usually Serenity is a quiet and lovely place. Crimes...that's not what's happening here. Now three young women have been killed and the people are shocked. They don't know what to do. And...seeing the friends and relatives of the victims...it's sad. I know how they're feeling."

"You do?" Adam asked before he could stop himself. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

"No, it's fine," Harry answered. "It happened a while back. I've lost someone as well. It's horrible. Seeing people I know suffering from the same now...it's just making me sad. No one should go through that."

"I know," Adam agreed. "It's so...unnecessary and unfair. That's why we have to hurry and make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Sounds like you have a plan," Harry said, leaning back in his chair. His interest had been caught. "What do you have in mind?"

"We think that the killer is going after people with long, black hair and who are tall," Adam answered. "Do you know if there are many people in town who fit to this description?"

Harry shook his head. "No, there shouldn't be too many from what I know. Why?"

"Because we thought maybe we could try to protect them," Adam explained. "We thought we could send cops out who could make sure that the killer can't get to those women. It doesn't solve the case, but at least we have more time to find the killer without having to be scared that he'll do it again. We thought that in such a small town, there shouldn't be too many more people who look like our victims. At least not like as if they were twins."

Harry nodded slowly. "I think that's a very good idea. I know a few more women who look like our victims, but that's maybe...10 or so. It shouldn't be a problem to protect them."

Adam smiled satisfied. "That's great to hear."

A few more minutes he stayed at Harry's office before he left again. Still he felt uncomfortable with knowing that the killer was out there. But now that they had the chance to protect the next potential victims, he felt a bit more relieved.

"Excuse me?"

A female voice interrupted Adam in his thoughts as he was walking down the street. He turned around, facing an young woman. "Yes, please?"

"You're one of those people who try to find out who's killing those women, right?" she asked. When Adam nodded, she reached into the pocket of her jacket and fished a piece of paper out of it. "I was told to give you that."

With that she handed the paper over to Adam, turned around and headed into the opposite direction. Adam watched her in confusion for a moment before he opened the paper. Quickly he read over the few words. His eyes widened as he understood the content of the note.

"I might have some information that could be interesting for you." was written in the middle of the piece of paper and below that Adam found an address and a time at which he was supposed to meet the writer of the note. For a moment he hesitated. Then he stuck the note into his pocket and headed down the street as well.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading, please let me know what you think!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: And here is again a new chapter for you guys! I hope you'll like it. Huge thanks for the reviews! Special thanks to afrozenheart412, NorthernLights25, SMacked Hard and ****NickandGregNumberOneSlashFan****!**

**

* * *

**Once again Adam studied the note which he had reread a couple of times since he had received it from the young woman. At first he hadn't known what to do with it. Should he call Danny and Lindsay? Or should he talk to Harry first?

Adam didn't know as the note required he had to hurry if he wanted to be in time. Insecurity filled him as he stood in front of the small house at the edge of the little town. He wasn't armed. He didn't have any backup. Who knew if the person inside this house wasn't an informant but the killer who was now going after them? Who had maybe heard from their plan to protect the other women in town.

An instinct was telling him though that what he was doing was right. Adam knew that if Mac knew about his decision to meet the person without protection because his instinct was telling him so, he would let him know that this was reckless and dangerous.

For Adam, the risk was worth it though. He didn't believe that his instinct was betraying him and after taking another deep breath to keep himself calm, he knocked at the door of the small house. Just a few moments he had to wait until the door was opened by an elderly woman.

"Hello," he greeted a little nervous. "I'm Adam Ross from the New York Crime Lab. I received a note that told me to meet a Mrs. McLean here."

The woman nodded. "I was awaiting you already." She stepped aside. "Please come in, Mr. Ross."

Adam nodded. Once again something in his mind was screaming that his idea was crazy. But anyway he did like he was told. The woman closed the door behind him and led him into her living room. Hesitantly, Adam sat down, watching her closely as she sat down across of him.

"I guess you'd like to know why I wanted to meet you," she said then. "Mr. Ross, there is no need to worry, I'm not your killer, but I remembered something that might be helpful for you."

Adam nodded, smiling shyly. "Alright. First of all, thank you for offering your help. What did you remember that could be good for us?"

"Not too long something happened here and somehow the victims reminded me of that," Mrs. McLean started. "A few months ago, a woman of this town died due to an accident. She loved to go hiking along the highway. Usually this is no problem as there aren't much cars around. It was late evening though and we were on our way back to town. From the distance we could see Ellen walking and we joked about how she once will run along the entire highway. Then we saw this car appearing and..."

"What happened?" Adam wanted to know although he had a suspicion already.

"It hit her," she answered, shaking her head. The car stopped for a second and a woman came out. Before we reached them though or could see the plate of her car, she entered it again and drove away. When we arrived, Ellen was already dead. All we had was the description of the woman."

"Let me guess," Adam said. "Tall and with black hair?"

Mrs. McLean nodded. "Yes. We could also describe the car. But it was found a while later, but it was never found. And the woman wasn't either."

Adam nodded slowly. "I understand. So no one was ever arrested for a hit and run?"

She shook her head. "No. No one was arrested. They tried their best bu no one managed to find out who has killed Ellen."

"So maybe someone thought they have to punish women who fit to your description," he said more to himself. "Was the description released by the police?"

Mrs. McLean nodded. "Yes, they hoped the people in town would find out who the driver had been, but without any success." She sighed. "I was glad my husband and I could give out information after what we witnessed, but now when I see what is happening to those women, I wish we had just kept it to ourselves."

"Oh no, Mrs. McLean," Adam replied quickly. "What you did was perfectly right. You had to say what you witness. Even if the driver was never caught, maybe one day she will and that would be thanks to your description. No one would have expected that something like those murders would happen." He paused for a moment. Those information had indeed been unexpected, but possibly they were the hint they had needed so much.

"Mrs. McLean," he said then. "Do you know if the victim of this accident had any family here in town?"

The woman nodded and the look she gave him caused new nervousness to rise inside him, making him wonder if he even wanted to hear the answer. "She was married. I guess if you know her full name, you'll understand why I wanted to meet you here."

"What is her name?" Adam asked nervously.

Mrs. McLean sighed as she answered, "Ellen Shepard."

* * *

When Danny headed to the break room, he found Lindsay sitting at one of the tables, a cup of coffee and a file in front of her. He sighed lightly. Actually she was supposed to have a break and eat something as she hadn't eaten much over the days but even during short breaks, she couldn't push work aside. He could understand her though.

"Do you think we'll solve the case faster if you refuse to eat?" he wanted to know as he entered the luckily empty room as well.

Lindsay snapped out of her thoughts and looked up at him. "I'm not hungry," she said, taking a sip from her coffee.

"Are you kidding me? You barely ate anything since we started this case," he replied, joining her at her table.

"Can we discuss that later?" Lindsay asked back.

Danny sighed. He knew discussing now was unnecessary. Wordlessly he handed a cereal bar to her before he sat down as well. "Harry just called, he gave us a list with names of women that could look similar to the victims. I talked to Flack, he'll take care of that."

Lindsay nodded. "Now we only have to find him finally. I just wish I knew how."

"We will. I know we will," Danny said. "Where's Adam though? I thought he only wanted to talk to Harry and then come back."

Lindsay smiled. "Seems like your timing is perfect again. There he is." She nodded her head towards the elevators where just at this moment Adam stepped through the doors. Almost hectically he looked around until he spotted them in the break room and almost ran over to them.

"Why's he in such a rush?" Danny wondered. Panting in exhaustion, Adam joined them in the room, without stopping walking over to them, tossing a thick file onto the table.

"We have a problem," he said breathlessly.

"What is that?" Danny wanted to know, opening the file and pulling it closer so he and Lindsay could look at it together.

"This is all about the death of Ellen Shepard," Adam answered.

"Ellen Shepard?" Lindsay wanted to know. "What does this have to do with our case?"

"She was killed in a hit and run," Adam told her. "And people witnessed that the person who ran her over with her car was a tall woman with black hair."

Immediately Danny and Lindsay looked up in surprise.

"That's good, Adam!" Danny said impressed. "Let me guess, the person was never caught?" When Adam nodded, he added, "Maybe the killer is trying to find the woman who is responsible for the accident of Ellen Shepard and is going after everyone who fits to this description. How did you find that out?"

Adam immediately blushed. "I know what I did was risky, you don't have to tell me that but I thought I should trust in my instinct and so I followed it."

"There's nothing wrong with trusting in your instinct, Adam," Lindsay replied. "So how did you find it out?"

"I received a note from someone when I was in town," he answered. "Someone wanted to meet me and so I went to the address. The woman is one of the witnesses who saw the accident and she remebered it when she heard how the victims looked like and thought maybe the information could help us somehow. Then I asked the responsible crime lab for information about the accident and they have me this."

"That's really fantastic, Adam," Danny said. "But why did you say that we have a problem?"

"Didn't the name of her ring a bell?" Adam wanted to know. When the couple shook their heads, he explained, "Ellen Shepard was married. To Harry Shepard."

"What, to Harry?" Lindsay stared at Adam in disbelief.

He nodded. "Yes. It also fits to what he said today when I was at his office because he told me he lost someone as well. And according to Mrs. McLean, he didn't take it well at all. He was suffering from serious depressions, he locked himself at home and didn't talk to anyone for ages, he also drank a lot from what she said. Then one day he suddenly came back to work as if nothing had happened. A few of his friends tried to find out how he was but he only said he had to move on and didn't mention the accident anymore."

Danny and Lindsay exchanged a look. Both were shocked by the information they had just gotten; they hadn't been aware of what had happened to Harry at all.

"I hate to speak it out," Adam said then. "But...do you believe there is any chance that...he is the killer? I know he's been working with us all the time and seemed to be as desperate to catch this killer. But...he would have a motive and it all seems to fit together."

"He doesn't even have to be faking his behaviour," Lindsay replied. "If he was so depressed...who knows what that did to him? Maybe he doesn't even know what is doing."

"Whatever it is," Danny stated. "We have to talk to him. I don't want him to be it just as much as you, but currently this is our only lead and he definitely has a motive."

Danny, Lindsay and Adam exchanged another look. They had their first real lead in this case. But neither of them could deny that what they had found out didn't relief them at all.

* * *

He was walking down the street, hands buried in the pockets of his jacket, one of them clenched around the knife tightly. Something inside him had wished that he could finally stop his search for revenge. Still he didn't know for sure who was responsible for the accident.

But his heart didn't stop aching. He couldn't forget the moment when they had shown up at his door. How he had broken down. How he hadn't been able to form a proper thought for days and weeks.

The pain was still there. His rational mind was telling him that punishing this woman wouldn't ease his pain. But the longing for revenge was stronger.

He gave a quick nod to the police officer in the car that was parked in front of the apartment building of his next victim, getting a nod back in response as the man recognoized him.

He took a deep breath as he made his way upstairs. His body was shaking, sweat was breaking out on his forehead. Torn he was, between this instinct that told him his actions were wrong and the aching in his chest that refused to go away.

With a shaking hand, he knocked at the door. He had to wait a few seconds before it was opened and she appeared. And once again his hand tightened around the knife as she greeted him and let him into her apartment. For a second something inside him wished someone would finally stop him, not knowing how close this wish was to coming true.

* * *

**A/N: We're getting closer and closer to solving the case. Please let me know what you think!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thanks so much for the sweet reviews again! Here's the next update for you! Special thanks to NorthernLights25, afrozenheart412, SMacked Hard and ManhattanMadame!**

**

* * *

**All three had hoped that soon they would find evidence or anything else that could help them to solve the case, to catch this person who was brutally killing those young women. All the time they had believed that the murders had to be connected. Why else would there be three women killed within such a short time, all of them through a stab into the chest. All of them looking the same way.

Now that they had a lead and had found a man who had a clear motive, neither of them felt the familiar relief. Because their suspect was the last person they had expected.

In silence, Danny, Lindsay and Adam were sitting in their car, driving down the highway as they were on their way to the town to talk to Harry. All of them were torn between the wish to finally catch the person responsible for the murders and the wish that it wasn't him.

"Maybe someone else felt the urge to murder those women because they thought it was unfair that this woman was never caught," Adam suggested after a while.

"That's at least a chance," Lindsay agreed with a sigh. "But Harry knows how this woman looked like, why didn't he come up with the theory that someone is going after the murderer of his wife?"

"Maybe he suppressed the memories of this accident," Danny said.

Adam shook his head. "At least not all the time. When I was there, he told me that he can understand how the families have to be feeling and that it makes him sad to see people he knows suffer because he knows how they're feeling as he lost someone as well." He paused. "How high are the chances that he really doesn't know what he's doing?"

"It can happen." Lindsay shrugged. "I heard about that before, that people did things and then didn't remember them at all. I don't know that for sure though, maybe we should talk to a psychologist. But I think your brain can do a lot to you when you suffer from a traumatic experience. Like when people forget about something that happened in the past."

"Maybe his hate for the person who killed his wife makes him lose control over his mind." Danny sighed. "Let's hope we'll find him before he does it again. I phoned one of our cops when we left, maybe..."

He was interrupted when Lindsay's cell started to ring. Checking the caller ID, she gave Danny a nod to signal him the person was indeed one of the officers. She answered the phone and listened closely, her expression turning more concerned.

"Alright, thank you," she said then to end the call.

"Did someone see him?" Adam wanted to know.

Lindsay nodded. "He arrived at one of the apartments around a minute ago. I have the address. The officer said he'll wait for us to arrive because he's alone."

Danny sighed. "He's alone? Then why did we even have guys there when he can't go up there to protect the woman?"

"No idea, but we're almost there, so hurry up," Lindsay answered, telling him the address. They had to play against the time if they wanted to stop Harry before he could try to get revenge again.

* * *

"I'm really glad that we have the officers around in town," Mary Casey said as she led Harry into her living room. "I have to say I felt pretty worried when I heard that this killer is going after women who look like me. I wonder what a crazy that is."

Harry's hand slowly pulled the knife out of his jacket pocket. His heart was racing. What he was doing contradicted everything he was believing in. But even if he wanted to, he couldn't stop himself anymore.

"I wouldn't say he's crazy actually," he answered.

"But..." Mary said, turning around. Her words faded as she saw the knife that was glistering in Harry's hand. "What...are you doing with that?"

Harry ignored the frightened look she gave him. His eyes were focused on something he had already seen when he had stood in front of her door. "Where is this scar on your forehead from?" he wanted to know.

"I...oh God, I will call this cop now," she stammered in fear, reaching out for the cell that was resting on the coffee table near her, but stopped in her movement when he made a step forward.

"I only want to talk to you, Mary," he said. "Where is this scar from? Tell me where it's from."

Paralysed by her fear, Mary stepped away from the coffee table again, grabbing the couch for support as her shaking legs barely kept her on standing. "I...had an accident. A while ago."

Immediately a rush of hate floated through Harry at her words and once again his hand grew tighter around the knife. "From a car accident maybe?" he hissed. "A hit and run where you killed a woman on the highway?"

Mary was shivering as she was staring at the hateful man in front of her. "I...no...I mean..."

"Stop!" Harry yelled, causing her to tense in fear. "Stop the damn lies! You did it, right? You're the one who hit my wife with your car. You only left it shortly and when you realised she was dead already, you simply drove away. And even when the whole town was looking for the driver, you never showed up to tell me it was you. You hid like a coward." His voice was shaking at this point. "You never allowed me to get over what happened to Ellen. You never got the punishment you deserved."

"Is that why...you killed all those women?" Mary whispered. "Because they...could have been it?"

"You, the coward who hit my wife and then drove away, had to be punished," Harry hissed, feeling his control steadily fading. "I had no idea who it was, but I had to find her. You."

"But...if you kill me...she won't come back from that," Mary sobbed. "I...I'm so sorry what I did to Ellen, Harry. I drove away because...I was so shocked. I didn't want to do that. I haven't been on the phone or drunk or anything. I don't even remember how it happened. I only know that...suddenly there she was and...then I crashed into her and she lay on the street. I...didn't know what to do. I know I should have called an ambulance but I couldn't think straight."

"You could have come to me and could have said it afterwards," Harry said.

"I was too scared," she whispered. "Harry, why...don't you just arrest me now? Lock me up for it, tell them I admitted it was me because I was so afraid of this killer. I won't ever tell anyone that it was you who killed them, I swear. I can sign that for you."

But Harry shook his head. "Don't be naïve." He stepped closer. "You will pay the way Ellen had to pay for your stupidity."

Mary only stared at him as he lifted the knife and made his way over to her, unable to defend herself in any way.

* * *

They had quickly reached the address the officer had told them. He was already awaiting them.

"Backup didn't arrive yet," he said as they joined him at the entrance door of the apartment building.

"We can't wait for them though," Danny replied. "If Harry is our man, we don't have time to stand and wait. Lets hope those few minutes haven't been too much yet."

Together they entered the building and made their way upstairs to the floor of Mary Casey's apartment, hoping dearly that they were in time before Harry would be able to kill her as well.

"Miss Casey gave me her keys when I told her I was there for her protection, for the case someone would try to hurt her," the officer said, handing it to Danny.

He took it with a nod as they brought themselves into position in front of the apartment door. They refused to announce their presence this time. No one of them had expected Harry to be a murderer, it was a surprise. No one of them knew how he would react if he found out they knew about his secret.

Slowly and carefully, Danny, Lindsay, Adam and the officer entered the apartment as they heard a shout from the young woman. They rushed into the living room, just in time as Harry had stepped over to the frightened Mary, the hand with the knife risen.

"Harry!" Lindsay shouted. Recognizing the familiar voice, Harry froze in his motion for a moment, partly turning around to gaze at the group of people facing him with guns pointed at him.

"Drop the knife, Harry," Danny told him calmly. "We know what's happening here, don't do that."

"But..." Harry stared at them in a mix of shock, surprise and a hint of relief that seemed to contradict his actions. "I...can't..."

"We know why you're doing this, Harry," Adam said, trying to turn the attention of the man towards him as Danny and Lindsay slowly approached him. "We know that you lost your wife in an accident in which a black haired, tall woman was involved."

A sob escaped Ellen at the words. "I admitted it was me," she cried. "Can't you just...arrest me?"

The voice of his potential victim caused Harry to turn around again. "You won't go anywhere," he hissed, tears of hate rising in his eyes as he stared at the scared woman in front of him. "You killed my wife! Do you even know what I had to go through because of you? Do you know how it feels like when you're having a good day, waiting for your wife to come home but all you get are cops in front of your door, telling you she was killed in a hit and run? Do you have any idea what that felt like? It was like the...entire world broke down at this moment. It was like someone ripped my heart out of my chest! And to top that, the coward who did that to her was never caught either! What do you expect from me? To accept that and move on? I can't move on, I loved this woman! And you took her away from me!"

"But when you kill her this won't bring you Ellen back," Adam shouted in an attempt to get Harry's attention back. The man turned around again and stilled his movement once more. "Do you think this is what Ellen wanted? I didn't know her, but I think if she could see you now, she wouldn't want you to go after her murderer with such a hate. She would wish her to be arrested of course. But do you believe she would like you to go to prison for what happened to her?"

"It's too late for that anyway," Harry whispered. "I killed three women already." Tears were streaming down his cheeks at this point. "And they weren't even responsible for what happened."

"No, they were not," Adam agreed. "Even more important it is to stop now. Don't add another person to your list."

"But it was her," Harry said quietly.

"It was her, but she'll get her punishment as well," Adam promised. Briefly he glanced at Danny and Lindsay who had managed to reach Mary and Harry now, ready to step in. "Harry, see...you remember what you told me? You told me how sad you are for the families of the victims because you know how it feels like to lose someone. I believe you that this makes you sad. You know how they feel like right now. As much as you hate Miss Casey for what she did to your wife, do you think you should cause that much pain for another family? You killed three innocent women and made their families feel the way you did when Ellen was killed. Don't you think it's enough now? Don't you think it's fairer to let us arrest her rather than to cause pain for her family as well?"

Adam swallowed hard. He had never been in such a situation before, but he had managed to get through to Harry and he could feel he was close to making the man give up. "Give your knife to Danny," he said then. "Make this end, Harry. Give your knife to Danny and make it better than all those times before."

Harry glanced over to Mary, finding Lindsay standing next to her in protection, an arm wrapped around the shoulders of the crying woman. Danny was standing a few inches away from him, holding his hand out to him.

"Give me your knife, Harry," he said. "It's over. We'll make sure that Miss Casey will have to face the consequences for what she did. End it here now."

For a moment Harry hesitated. Then, without needing to hear more, he handed the knife to Danny. He was crying as the officer handcuffed him.

"I was hoping you'd finally stop me," Harry cried. He looked at the knife which Danny put away into an evidence bag. His expression changed as realisation of his actions found their way into his hate-clouded mind. "Oh God, what did I do..."

Willingly he let the officer lead him out of the apartment.

"I'll take her to the car as well," Lindsay said. "We'll meet down there."

Danny nodded. He watched her bringing the still crying woman out of the apartment before he turned to Adam. "You did a fantastic job with talking Harry out of doing that," he said impressed. "And also with getting us this information. You can be really proud, you solved this case."

Adam smiled shyly. "Thank you."

Danny gave him a nod before he and Adam followed Lindsay. They had managed to catch the man they had been after for days now, even though it had turned out in a way they never had imagined before. But despite the lack of evidence justice had won again.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading! The next chapter will be the last chaptrer of this fic. Please let me know what you think. :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: And here is the last chapter of this story! Thanks so much to everyone who has been reading, reviewing and who added the fic! Special thanks to SMacked Hard, NickandGregNumberOneSlashFan, NorthernLights25, afrozenheart412 and ManhattanMadame!**

* * *

It was Danny's and Adam's turn to stand outside of the interrogation room and watch as Lindsay was talking to Harry. The case was solved, the murderer was caught but still neither of them could feel the usual relief. No one of them had expected that the man they had been working together with and who had seemed to be as determined as them to catch this person had been the killer himself.

Lindsay was sitting across of Harry at the small table in the dark room that was barely lit by the few sunrays that were finding their way through the partly covered window. There was nothing left of the determined, strong man. Barely he managed to look up at her with eyes that were reddened and an expression that screamed guilt at her.

"I heard you're able to remember now," Lindsay said after a while.

Harry nodded slowly. "You have to believe me when I tell you that I had no idea what I was doing," he replied, gazing up at her with a dull expression. "I didn't pretend like I was trying to catch a killer. I didn't know we were going after...me." He sighed. "I...I don't know what happened to me. After Ellen was killed I broke down a couple of times. I had a few times where I woke up and couldn't remember what I have been doing in the last few minutes or hours. There was one moment I could remember and then hours in between were missing."

"You had that since what happened to your wife?" Lindsay wanted to know.

Harry nodded. "I didn't pay too much attention to it, to be honest. I was almost glad I forgot parts of my day. I felt like I wasn't really...living anymore anyway."

"People in town said that after a while you went back to work though and seemed like you were fine again," she said.

He laughed sadly. "People don't know anything. I had to go back to work to pay my bills. Doesn't mean I felt good again only because I showered and didn't start to cry every few moments."

"You still had the blackouts then?" Lindsay asked.

Harry nodded. "They didn't go away. The worst is, I had no idea what I was doing in those moments." He paused for a moment. "I wish they wouldn't have made me remember what I did. And how I felt when I decided to go and kill those people. I...can't believe that I...became like that. A cold killer who went after all those women because I hoped that the pain would go away if I found the person who killed Ellen."

Once again tears started to stream down Harry's face. Lindsay had to swallow hard at the sight of the broken man. He was guilty; he had killed those three women coldly. But it didn't change the circumstances of why which he had done it and she couldn't help but feel sorry for the man who regretted his actions so badly but knew he wouldn't be able to turn back time.

"I have never been a hateful person," Harry continued quietly. "Never. I always believed that every person should have a second chance, no matter how big the mistake was which they made. I always thought people should be able to forgive. And then I turned into a person who was so...driven by hate that I...killed three persons." He shook his head in disbelief at himself.

"It's shocking what grief can do to a person," Lindsay said. She hesitated for moment before she added, "When I was a teenager, I've been involved in a shooting were my friends got killed. It took me a long time to handle that and I never got over it completely. You can't forget something like that. And no matter what you try, it can't ease the pain."

"It doesn't change what I did," Harry stated.

Lindsay didn't reply to that. She knew he was aware of how horrible his actions had been.

"Mary Casey will stay in prison for a while for killing Ellen and leaving the place of accident," she said then.

Harry nodded. He didn't reply. Once again he looked away, staring down at the table in front of him. He was still in shock by how far his hate and grief had driven him.

Lindsay stayed for another few minutes before she got up and left the interrogation room. Danny and Adam greeted her with a look that mirrored her own. The case was closed, but once again it had been one that had affected them deeply.

* * *

Adam was sitting in the break room, staring at the apple in front of him. He was no fan of eating apples; much more he prefered sweet stuff like cakes. But the reason why he was staring, forgetting the world around him, wasn't because he wasn't in the mood for an apple.

He had been involved in numerous cases, but never he had been so deep into it before. Lindsay and Danny had given him the chance to do more than the work at the lab. The situation in the apartment of Mary Casey had been the top of it.

Still Adam could remember how he had tried to talk Harry out of what he had planned. So shocked he had been when he had found those information that had revealed to them who their killer was. He had wished that they would find evidence that he was innocent. Then they had seen him at the apartment and had to stop him from doing further damage.

"Are you alright?"

A familiar female voice caused Adam to snap out of his thoughts and look up. He hadn't heard how Kendall had entered the room as well and was now standing across of him at his table.

"Oh hey," he greeted her, instinctively smiling lightly at the woman who sat down at his table as well now. "I'm fine, yeah. Just thinking about the case."

"You mean the one with the officer who turned out to be the killer?" Kendall nodded. "I heard about that."

Adam sighed. "It's sad what happened to him and what it made him do. He was a good man once and then he turned into a serial killer. It was a tough case." He smiled shyly. "I know, I should just let it go."

But Kendall shook her head. "I doubt you can just let it go. You're human, you have feelings. You can't just forget it. I heard though that you did amazing work with it."

Adam blushed bright red. "Thank you. I...well, I guess I just did my work."

Kendall laughed. "Oh come on, Adam, take the compliment. You did great work and you should be proud of yourself." She offered him a smile that made him blush even more. "And to distract you a bit, why don't we go and eat something better than an apple?"

"You want to go out for dinner with me?" Adam asked surprised.

Kendall nodded. She simply grabbed the apple, sat it aside before she took his hand and pulled him off his chair. Willingly Adam followed her. A little distraction would be good. And even though he was too modest to say it, he was glad he had been able to play an important role in closing this case. Even if said case would affect him for a while.

* * *

When he and Lindsay arrived at home, Danny felt relief spreading inside him. For days they hadn't been at either of their places, had only gotten a few hours of sleep in those tiny, squealing beds.

"I'm glad I remembered how to find home again," he teased gently as they entered his apartment.

Lindsay offered a quick smile. "Would you mind if I went right to bed? I'm just tired."

"I'll join you in a minute," Danny answered, giving her a quick kiss onto the cheek. He watched her head into his bedroom before he went through his mail briefly. It was then that he realised how tired he was himself. This case had exhausted them all and so he didn't waste any more time and joined his girlfriend in his bedroom.

Like expected, he found her lying in bed already. The tension in the room though told him that they weren't anywhere close to sleeping yet. Sighing lightly, he removed his clothes quickly and joined her. She was gazing up at him as he settled down next to her before he lay down on his side so he could look back at her.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly.

Lindsay nodded. "I'm just exhausted." When he raised his eyebrows at her, she added, "I mean it, I am fine. But you can't deny this was a tough case. It wasn't nice to arrest a man we've been working together with before. And hearing his story...it's shocking what his pain did to him."

"Yeah, I know," Danny replied. "It's been a hard one. I'm glad we had Adam, he did amazing work."

"He did," Lindsay agreed.

They were quiet again, but still the conversation wasn't ended yet. Danny had another question in mind and after allowing Lindsay to think, he decided to ask.

"And how are you feeling in general?" he wanted to know. "I mean apart from the fact that this case turned out in a way we didn't expect."

Lindsay smiled softly. She had expected this question already. Before she had refused to talk about this topic, but Danny had been right; she shouldn't keep her thoughts to herself. After all she would expect the same from him.

"I think it's still early," she answered honestly. "It's not even been a month since my testimony. I thought when he's in jail that I'd move on and everything would be fine again."

"Would be nice if it was that easy I guess," Danny replied. "You need time and you should give yourself this time. That doesn't mean that you should take a break from work or that you should choose cases that are the easiest for you to work. What I mean is that you should allow yourself to have those feelings. That you shouldn't try and force yourself to believe that everything is okay although it isn't. It still hurts, yes. But there is no need to pretend it doesn't and if you don't want to handle the pain all by yourself, you still have me, right? You know I want to be there for you."

Lindsay's smile widened lightly. "I'll do that even, believe me," she told him with a light wink. She was grateful to know that he was there and that she just needed to say a word and he would support her.

"Did you ever feel the urge to take revenge?" Danny suddenly asked. At the realisation of his question, he blushed. "Sorry, that was nosy of me. I shouldn't have said that."

"No, it's fine," Lindsay answered. "Yes, honestly, I felt the wish to take revenge. Many times. When I saw him...I was scared, yes. I was also sad. But I was angry, too. This man had just walked in there and shot my friends. Just for fun. Yes, I felt the wish to make him pay for what he did. But...well, maybe it's due to our job, but I pushed those thoughts aside and concentrated on making my statement so he would get the punishment he deserved." She sighed. "I think the wish to take revenge is in everyone of us. But...I also know that it only makes it harder for you. It makes you bitter. It makes it impossible for you to feel something else. I know it's easier said than done, but I think one should try to move on somehow. Even if it's hard. I won't ever forgive Katums. But I don't hate him anymore. Because as long as I hate him he has still power over me. This hate would be controlling me and he's not worth that."

"I hope one day the pain will get better as well," he said.

Once again she smiled at him. "It will. It might not go away but it will get better. And knowing that there is someone in front of who I don't have to hide it makes it a lot better."

Smiling back at Lindsay, Danny took her hand gently and pulled her into a gentle embrace. He was glad to know that she wasn't suffering from hate herself or felt the wish to take revenge. She had managed to move on and he was proud of her because of that.

Their case had shown to them what strong feelings could do to a person. Even more they were determined to keep an eye on each other and make sure that with whatever feelings they would have to deal, they could do it together.


End file.
